Library Patron Services

Menu

Patrons

The library circulates most of the material in its physical inventory. Borrowing privileges are reserved for WMU students, faculty and staff and members of the WMU Board of Governors. Temporary borrowing privileges to outside researchers may be extended at the discretion of the librarian. Access to the library's catalogue is available to all users via the world wide web. Access to the library's online databases and journals is generally reserved for members of the WMU community.

Loan Periods.

The loan period for most items is six weeks for WMU staff, faculty, and doctoral students, three weeks for all other students. A few items have shorter periods, which are the same for all borrowers:

Periodicals: 1 week.

Audio visual: 1 week.

Short-loan: 1 day, 2 days or 1 week. Due before 10:00 AM the next business day. May be borrowed after noon.

The library reserves the right to shorten the loan period of materials in high demand, and in some instances will recall the material before its original due date. Patrons will be notified via e-mail when an item checked out to them has been recalled. The recalled item is expected to be returned the next business day. Should circumstances not allow that, patrons who have received a recall notice need to contact the library, and return the material at the first available opportunity.

Renewals

Most circulating materials are renewable online. Patrons may log into their account, select the "Checkout" tab and click the renew link next to any item that is renewable, up to five consecutive times per item, before the book must be physically returned to the library. Patrons having fines in excess of SEK 50 may not renew materials online, nor may patrons renew material that is already overdue, or that has been requested by another patron.

Holds

Patrons logged in with user name and password may place a hold on materials that are checked out to another patron. Placing a hold reserves the item for the requesting user, who will be notified when the item is returned. The patron's place in the hold queue is determined strictly by the time the hold was placed. Although placing a hold does not automatically recall an item from the patron who is currently borrowing it, the library may, at its discretion, recall the item and shorten the loan period to subsequent patrons to ensure fair usage while the item is in high demand. Holds can be placed only on items in use, when no other copy is available.

Fines

Late returns incur a SEK 1 fine per day per item; a SEK 1 per hour per item for short loan materials. Patrons accruing fines in excess of SEK 50 will have thier library privileges suspended until the fines are cleared. Patrons with fines need to pay them in person at the library. The staff may forgive the fine if there are special circumstances, but the patrons will still need to appear in person with the overdue materials for which they have incurred the fine.

Lost or Damaged Materials

Patrons who have lost or damaged library materials incur the cost of replacing them, as well as a 200 SEK processing fee to cover the time and materials needed to order, catalogue, and label the replacements. Often, an overdue fine has also been incurred from the time the item was due until it was reported lost or damaged. The library will "freeze" the accrual of daily fines when the item has been reported by the patron, and may, at the discretion of library staff, waive the overdue fine in return for prompt cooperation in replacing the lost or damaged item.

Notifications

The default means of notifying library patrons is via email. Two days prior to an item being due, the borrower will receive an email reminder either to renew or to return the borrowed material. Likewise, overdue notices, recall notices and general library announcements will be sent via email. It is the responsibility of borrowers to ensure that their "patron record" contains a valid email address, and to check email routinely for notifications sent by the library.